Western Union Restores Money Transfer Services in Puerto Rico

October 6, 2017

Fee-Free Transactions Enabled for Senders in Mainland U.S. and Puerto Rico

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--()--The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, has restored Western Union Money Transfer® services to multiple Agent locations in parts of Puerto Rico.

To support communities and families in Puerto Rico affected by Hurricane Maria, Western Union, today activated $0 fee on money transfers from the U.S. mainland and within Puerto Rico to active Agent locations in Puerto Rico*. Effective immediately, for a limited time, consumers in the U.S. can send funds fee-free from a retail Agent location, or by using the promo code HELPPR on westernunion.com and the Western Union mobile app.

Western Union President and CEO, Hikmet Ersek, said, “Placing currency directly into the hands of our customers has long been a Western Union strength, empowering people to pay for necessities during everyday life, which becomes even more essential in times of natural, economic or political disasters.”

Western Union transported physical currency into Puerto Rico and held it securely until a sizeable number of Agents were ready to service the residents impacted by Hurricane Maria. Agent locations are currently open in Arecibo, Bayamon, Carolina, Mayaguez, Ponce and San Juan.

As previously communicated, the Western Union Foundation made a pledge of up to USD $80,000 to the American Red Cross in support of relief efforts in Puerto Rico. The pledge represents an initial USD $30,000 to be provided by the Western Union Foundation directly to the American Red Cross and a 2:1 match on contributions from Western Union employees around the world, up to USD $50,000.

Fee Free Donations to the American Red Cross have been activated, as well. Consumers who want to take advantage of fee-free donations through Western Union® Agent locations in the U.S. can donate directly to The American Red Cross.

To donate, complete the blue Payments section on the Western Union form, using “American Red Cross” as the Pay To recipient; “REDCROSS DC” as the Code City, along with “Puerto Rico Relief” in the Account field.

* Due to the severity of the hurricane, some agent locations may not be immediately operational or possess sufficient funds.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of June 30, 2017, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of over 550,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories and over 150,000 ATMs and kiosks, and included the capability to send money to billions of accounts. In 2016, The Western Union Company completed 268 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $80 billion of principal between consumers, and 523 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

About The Western Union Foundation

The Western Union Foundation believes that education is one of the surest pathways to economic opportunity. Through collaborations with NGOs around the world, the Foundation has embarked on a five-year mission to equip 50,000 migrants and refugees – with a focus on women and young people – with the skills they need to thrive in the global economy by 2020. The Foundation also partners with The Western Union Company to rapidly respond to communities in crisis with humanitarian relief. To date, more than $113 million has been given to fund projects affecting more than 800,000 people in 137 countries across the globe. The Western Union Foundation is a separate charitable corporation that is tax-exempt under §501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Code, contributions to which are tax-deductible for US income tax purposes, and receives support from The Western Union Company, its employees, agents and business partners. To learn more, visit https://www.westernunion.com/blog/foundation-de/ or follow on Twitter @TheWUFoundation.

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Western Union:
Sarah Meske, +1 720-332-2796
sarah.meske@westernunion.com